Calling Alois Ruf Jnr a tuner among those in the know is like describing Pininfarina as a bloke who likes to doodle cars.

This feature was first published in MOTOR’s February 2009 issue.

The man is held as a deity thanks to 25 years of creating such legends as the infamous ‘Yellowbird’ – Ruf’s original 911-based CTR model. Its heroic stats read 350kW/553Nm and 4.0sec to 100km/h some 22 years ago, and it even starred in its own now-legendary video, Fazination.

But until now, all Alois Ruf’s headlining creations have been so closely based on the 911 that only the cognoscenti could tell them apart. He had to move to the next level. And the result is his own inimitable supercar. It’s called the CTR 3 – one-part 20th-anniversary homage to the Yellowbird, another-part Ruf futurist vision in metal – and it’s here to greet us at Ruf’s Pfaffenhausen, Germany, headquarters.

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The sunny weather helps, but its satin-sheen body finish is a wonder to behold. And it isn’t some cheap plastic stick-on wrap material that many tuners have turned to. Instead, it’s a painstaking paint finish that requires layer upon layer and costs hundreds of euros per litre. It’s a sign of just how much of a departure the CTR 3 is from 911 convention.

The obvious comparison is with Porsche’s own Carrera GT, but Ruf has blown away Stuttgart’s crown jewel for pure rolling theatre. Maybe from the rear three-quarter it has the slightest hint of flattened Cayman, but that would be a harsh judgement.

Dissect the shape, though, and the silhouette of a Porsche 911 Turbo’s front end, albeit dressed with Ruf’s own expensive carbonfibre front bar, becomes apparent.

Such a clean-sheet approach affords design flexibility. And the big one is that the boxer engine is mid-mounted, forward of the purpose-built six-speed sequential gearbox, and not rear-mounted, ala 911 tradition.

That swooping back-end and monstrous airbox offer little in the way of rearward visibility, so Ruf includes a reversing camera. But with 515kW (at 7600rpm) and 890Nm (at 4000rpm) on tap from a 3746cc twin-turbo boxer six, you won’t spend much time looking behind you. That view-robbing rear wing is also integral to an aero package that helps keep Ruf’s golden child sucked to the deck at 375km/h.

It takes a firm pull of the alloy shifter for the sequential gearbox to bang through the upshifts, but keep the throttle mashed to the carpet and all hell cuts loose once it hits its four-grand, full-boosting peak-torque, hurtling the meagre 1470kg coupe way into the distance. In fact, monster acceleration is almost too easy to extract. Lord, is this car fast.

There’s none of that tuneful romance you’ll hear from Italian supercars, but the whooshing and wheezing of turbos and wastegates channelling 1.2bar of boost through the boxer’s plumbing adds plenty of ceremony, good vibes and sonic delight. With plenty of volume, too.

The on-road experience is nothing like playing with fire, but nor does the CTR 3 cop being manhandled. There’s a lightness and keenness to the chassis in corners, and despite a natural degree of understeer (tuned in for fat-wallet/low-skilled customers), it doesn’t take a big spark of enthusiam to set alight its immense potential.

Balance is exceptional, although it only really knuckles down and starts bending lateral physics with increasing road speed (and the resultant downforce). Despite this, steering remains eager and crisp even in tight, slow-speed stuff.

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For finish levels, comfort and ergonomics, the CTR 3’s interior matches any hypercar. It doesn’t have those imperfections and flaws so often accepted in niche manufacturing as so-called ‘character’. The only real swipe is that it’s so Porsche-like inside and out that many won’t appreciate how uniquely Ruf this car is.

There are faster cars. There are more beautiful cars. But this could just be the most complete hypercar on the market right now. Unfortunately, it’s doubtful that any of the 50 examples to be built – at the equivalent of $AU825,000 – will likely find their way to Australia, though. Bugger.

Ruf Trade

RUF AUTO began trading in 1939 by Alois Ruf, but it wasn’t until his death, in 1974, that his son, Alois Jnr, turned the company into a Porsche-tuning powerhouse.

Ten years later, an all-paw 993-based CTR 2 with 388kW/685Nm followed. Today, Ruf has factory outlets in seven countries.

FAST FACTS RUF CTR 3

BODY: 2-door, 2-seat coupe DRIVE: rear-wheel ENGINE: 3746cc flat 6, DOHC, 24v, twin turbo aluminium head & block POWER: 515kW @ 7600rpm TORQUE: 890Nm @ 4000rpm COMPRESSION RATIO: 9.4:1 BORE X STROKE: 102.0 x 76.4mm WEIGHT: 1470kg POWER-to-WEIGHT: 350kW/tonne 0-100KM/H: 3.2sec (claimed) TOP SPEED: 375km/h (claimed) TRANSMISSION: six-speed sequential manual SUSPENSION: struts, locating links, anti-roll bar (f); multi-links, horizontal fixed coil-over dampers, pushrods, anti-roll bar (r) L/W/H: 4445/1944/1200mm WHEELBASE: 2625mm FUEL: 98 octane/70 litres BRAKES: 380mm carbon-ceramic ventilated/drilled discs, six-piston calipers (f); 380mm carbon-ceramic ventilated/drilled discs, six-piston calipers (r); ABS STEERING: power rack and pinion WHEELS: 19 x 8.5-inch (f); 20 x 12.5-inch (r), alloy TYRES: Michelin Pilot Sport; 265/35ZR19 (f); 335/30ZR20 (r) PRICE: $825,000 (estimated)

RATING: 9 out of 10 stars LIKE: Head-smashing performance and exclusivity, race-car looks DISLIKE: Having everyone call it a “Porsche” (’cos it kinda is…)